We are just a group of retired spooks that discuss things that you’ll not find anywhere else. It makes us unique. Take a look around. Learn a thing or two.
Normally, I conduct a 3/3 affirmation campaign. This is a fine balance for world-line travel and seems to mesh well with the fate-forecasting. But, as long time readers will recognize, I am running 3/4 campaigns (three months off and a four month wait (dwell) time) and the result are (personally) stunning. My life has cranked up a notch and there’s all sort of discomforting changes in my life. In short, seriously, MM’s life is upside down.
Not in a bad way mind you, but in an exhausting and time-consuming way. New things are being forced into place as a matter of necessity, and other things have dropped to the side.
For instance, being in a new home, you adapt to the new environment.
When I lived in Shenzhen, we rode subways all the time to get around.
When we lived in Zhuhai, we rode bikes or took ride-hail services or buses.
Now in Tanzhou, a (growing, developing, but) rural section of China, we must rely on buses, electric scooters, or cars.
This is forcing the purchase of a car. Not something that I want to do, but (well) it’s a different situation, and I have to adapt to the changes as they materialize. And a car, will force a change in daily routines, habits, and finances.
That’s just one example.
I am conducting the campaign with pluck and still plowing forward, and I hope that you all do so as well. Good things are in your future. I just know it.
For today, here’s another art post. The world needs art.
Please enjoy this post.
A midcareer figurative painter with a distinctive and haunting narrative vision, Bo Bartlett composes large-scale contemporary portraits and landscapes that combine the memories and impressions of his upbringing, his faith, his family, and his friends. Presenting iconic American subjects subtly underlined with open-ended questions, Bartlett implies that there is a chance for magic and wonder in everyday life. Bo Bartlett belongs to the tradition of American realist painters defined by such artists as Andrew Wyeth, who called Bartlett “fresh, gifted and what we need in this country.”
You’ll not find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you because I just don’t care to.
This is going to be a (far too abbreviated) article about the great paintings of a man that the world has seemingly forgotten. Which is a shame. But it is also something else as well. For I am going to get really, and absolutely personal about art and what it means to me, and about the United States as well.
You see, and must understand, art is a creation that massages our emotions. If that art generates good thoughts, or treasured memories within us, it becomes priceless and valuable. But consider what would happen if somehow an evil person is able to take that treasured moment away from you. What then?
Thus this post.
The artist that we shall discuss is one of my all-time favorites. His name was William Adolphe Bouguereau, and I had the opportunity to see his works up front and close up in the Carnegie Mellon museum of art in Oakland, Pennsylvania (It’s an upscale suburb of Pittsburgh.)
And while he is no longer popular or appreciated in Art History class, his works and the emotions that they generate lives on through MM.
Carnegie Mellon museum of art in Oakland, Pennsylvania
Indeed, he is not forgotten here.
Fundamentally, William Adolphe Bouguereau was a most amazing painter. And while his paintings inspire and astound, when you look at his works up close, you wonder just how in the world was he able to do what he did. Up close, everything just seems to be dabs and drabs of paint here and there.
You can well imagine him put a drop here, and then a drop there, and then somehow, by some miracle it all comes together in an amazing work of art.
He is considered to be a “French Academic Classical painter, teacher, frescoist and draftsman”. He died in 1905 after 432 amazing works of art.
To see a complete collection of his works you can visit the Art Renewal Center here. Prepare to be stunned and amazed. (Pssst. You can also order prints of his works there to put up in your house or favored spot. - Just a thought. Don't you know.)
What I really want to say about this is that beauty surrounds us everywhere.
And if you have an opportunity, take an afternoon with friends or family and visit an Art museum, and then have a nice lunch. Go out. Have fun. Enjoy life. And if by chance you ever get the chance to see any Academic Classic paintings, by all means go forth and enjoy.
Check out his amazing works.
Having a fun time with the family inside the Carnegie Mellon art museum.
…
Sigh.
And now the sad part of the story.
I strongly love art for the emotions, the memories and the images that they represent to me on a very personal and visceral basis. While I have never been able to match the mastery of the oils as these Masters have, they have inspired me. And I have taken on my own efforts to pain figurative and allegorical works of my own design. And I like to think of myself as “pretty good”, I would only rate a “7” compared to the Master that is listed herein. Who is, in every way, a “10+”.
Up until my arrest (as part of my “retirement” from the MAJestic organization) I had a nice little studio. I had studios in Kittanning, and Erie Pennsylvania, and in Arkansas. My little studio in Arkansas occupied the garage. And so it was a “partial” studio. One side was bicycle storage, boxes, and a workbench. The other side was a canvas tarp covered floor, natural lighting via light-bulb and my massive painting easel.
The tale of how I was arrested, and how my life was dissembled step by methodical step is a very painful one for me. At that time, I had no idea that I would actually be “retired” as a MAJestic operator. I figured that I was somehow “special” and that my program participation would consist of a debriefing at a government office of some type. But, that did not happen.
I wasn’t important.
At least the (government) powers that be didn’t think that I was. And so, one day, out of the blue I was arrested. And I watched my life fall apart right before my eyes. I watched the entire force of an enormous and all-powerful government peel my life apart, layer by layer until I was raw, nude and helpless.
This story is still painful for me to relate.
Sorry you seem so butt-hurt about the IRS and the USA, etc. Obviously you have a seething rage and hatred for the USA for whatever (unexplained) reason . That’s OK. Stay in China and hate us all you want. Works for me.
-A quote from a jack-ass who was trolling me.
As it is indeed still very painful, I am not going to relate it at this time. But, (unfortunately) in order to know about one of my favorite artists, you will need to know a little bit about HOW I was arrested in Arkansas…
…and how it has affected my love of classical art.
Connecting art with sexual deviance
It’s simple, really.
I had a collection of books on art. many were on techniques, but others were these huge “coffee table” books that people would place on the living room coffee table for casual enjoyment. I had quite a collection of them. And most of my books were of the classics. All full of art by true and real masters.
And, on that fateful day when I was arrested in Arkansas, my large picture book of William Adolphe Bouguereau was used as evidence of my “satanic nature”, and “lust for little children“.
I well remember sitting on the lone chair in the middle of my empty living room…
All of my belongings except for my books, and a mysterious box full of CD ROMS were gone. My home was completely empty including the light bulbs and the light switch covers. Even the fake fireplace had the fake logs gone. As was the built-in microwave, and refrigerator.
On that fateful day, I had just gotten back from a three week trip to China. When I returned I discovered that my car was disabled with four flat tires, my power was turned off, and my home was completely empty except for two chairs, and a pile of books and a big (taped up) box displayed predominantly in the middle of the living room floor.
They raided me in full SWAT gear at 6am as I was leaving the house to go to work. Their black painted armored cars ran over my rose bushes, and two other squad cars blocked up the driveway to my house - a downscale McMansion in a nice section of Maumelle Arkansas.
My house at the time looked a little something like this, only a tad bigger and my grass much much greener. LOL.
…
…I sat there, in that lone chair in the middle of the empty living room …
…while the detective in charge of the “investigation” grilled me on sexual matters and my interests. I’ll never forget her holding up my coffee table book of William Adolphe Bouguereau, and making points about all the nudes, the “Satanic nature of my interests” and why I was so fixated on “the dark side of history“.
It has wounded me terribly, and I still smart from their fucking smirks and ignorance. I know, I know…
…it’s Arkansas.
But still. It came as a surprise. You see. While I have read about these things happening, I never thought that it would happen to me.
And since (from now on and forever hence) I will always have those memories associated with certain artists and works of art, I will use that venue to provide the bitter-sweet love of art that I maintain after I was dissembled and “processed” by the jackasses in Arkansas.
I discuss this fact, and my experiences in this article.
Good ol’ boys decided my fate.
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Let’s begin with one of my all-time favorite paintings…
Nymphes et Satyre
Four nymphs tease and play with a satyr by trying to pull him into a lake. One nymph waves behind to three other nymphs in the distance, perhaps beckoning them to come and play with the satyr as well. The satyr half heartedly tries to resist the nymph’s wiles, entranced by their beauty.
Nymphes et Satyre Nymphs and Satyr 260 x 180 cms | 102 1/4 x 70 3/4 ins Oil on canvas Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute Williamstown | United States
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You don’t really need to know what nymphs are, or what satyrs are to appreciate this work. But knowing the story behind them adds a three-dimensional understanding of the art and what is being portrayed.
Nymphs are from Greek mythology.
They are considered to be minor female deities, and have a duty to protect different elements of nature such as streams, mountains and meadows (pantheon).
The male counterpart for a nymph is a satyr. A satyr is a creature also from Greek mythology having the torso and face of a man, ears and tail of a horse, and feet of a goat. They are known for being lustful and fertile creatures.
I can’t help but respond that Bouguereau captures an incredible sense of motion in this piece.
One can feel the struggle for the satyr to keep his ground, and the nymphs’ joyous struggle to pull him in. You can just feel the easy going, caviler attitude and peace in the pastoral scene. You can hear the water nymph’s jovial joking and feel their tugging towards the placid pond.
It’s like puppies playing. Or like kittens running around. It’s like small boys and girls playing in the yard on a nice sunny blue-sky day. It’s like Fresca and orange soda, peanut butter sandwiches and very-berry Cool-Aide. It’s water out of a green water-hose on a hot summer day, climbing trees, and riding your banana-seat, high-handle-bars bike all around town.
When I look at this work of art, I am transported back to another time. It makes me forget my current life, and re-experience the feelings and emotions and sensations of another time and another place.
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Why I love this picture is actually unknown. Somehow, and in some deep way it stirs my soul. But I really cannot vocalize what that special something is. It speaks to me in a deep visceral manner.
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And that’s the way life is. Not everyone can appreciate how you might feel about a “thing”, or an “object”, or a “piece of art”, or a “bauble”. So you just don’t try.
It’s pretty much a forgotten movie. Not well appreciated. Just something from the early 1990’s. But it makes a point about what art and beauty and appreciation is… all in terms of the early 1990’s – the decades of greed, swindles and anything / everything for a buck.
And that movie revolves around a small figurine statue. One that is worth money. But is coveted by the owners as a medium of exchange, but stolen by a housekeeper who appreciates it’s intangible beauty…
*sigh*
rare gem overlooked as much as statue nuntukamen18 December 2004
It is difficult for me to comprehend why there is only one viewer comment for this film, or why it is rated under a six.
If an excellent film is about entertainment, intelligence, great acting and a terrific story with a treasury of clever humor that expounds the deeper meaning of a good relationship between a man and a woman over wealth and selfishly egotistical success, then this is a standout film that achieves a richness of artistic accomplishment that very few films do.
No one truly sees the beauty of the bronze statue except the lowly and weathered housekeeper, a financially struggling mute, unable to express the profound feelings that are moving within her in words, but Rudi Davies sure gets it across with her expression and eyes.
I had to drive 30 miles to the Cedar Lee Theater, Cleveland's only real art house, during it's original release, but after the film was over I realized it would have been worthwhile if I would have had to walk...
...some films are just that special.
When I was a young boy, I actually saw this painting. It sat there predominantly on the wall facing the stairs as you walked up and into the museum proper. My parents went it, and took the right at the top of the stairs and enters. But I didn’t.
And to be very truthful, I just stood there on the steps looking up at it in amazement. It was larger than life to me and spoke to me…
…though, as a boy, I didn’t understand the language.
This work of art is spellbinding.
.
…
Art and the appreciation of it is a personal matter. And today, art is used as a medium to funnel large amounts of money back and forth between oligarchy members without concern. It’s a method of banking. Not an object of beauty, desire or of significance.
Today, ah, no one cares…
As an aside, the DA in Arkansas used my collection of books on art and artists as exhibits as to how terribly “evil” I was. I cannot remember the entire spiel that he gave to my attorney, because frankly, I was taken back at his ignorance and assault on my sensibilities. But a couple phrases stood out…
“...a painting depicting Satan surrounded by nude women…”
(my) “...obsession with female nudes…”
What is art and beautiful to one observer is evil and a threat to another. Do not make my mistake and think that everyone else can see beauty as you can, or who can understand things as you do, or who appreciates the world in different ways.
And when I was arrested, it was not for the possession of these works of art, or associated books. It was for two images on my laptop computer.
A Japanese comic that had a octopus having sex with a cat-like-person.
A photo that a doctor said was a girl under the age of 18 showing her genitals.
In Arkansas both images are considered “child pornography”. And each image had up to 40 years imprisonment. So I was facing 80 years.
Pretty fucking weird for a state that allowed people to get married to 16 year old girls. Was a “dry country” where you had to drive into Tennessee to buy alcohol. And where the Church in Down Town Little Rock was larger than the State Capital Building.
You know, I shared a cell in Arkansas at the ADC Brickey’s unit who got two years for killing a guy. I got five years for having two pictures. I just shake my head in perplexing exasperation.
But I digress.
I guess, at heart, I’m just a “hippie”, a “60’s child”.
Hippies in the 1960’s.
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Can you imagine what America would have been like if the Bozos that run America today were in charge of America back in the 1960’s?
Shudder.
GOP lawmaker: God told me to remove rape exceptions from ...
https://deadstate.org/gop-lawmaker-god-told-me-to...
May 24, 2019 · Hill, who is an evangelical Christian, says that the initial exceptions were only there to ensure that the bill would pass. Even though it picked up 20 co-sponsors, it died without getting a hearing in any committee. Hill told the group in Pensacola that he plans to bring the bill back as God intended it, “without any exceptions.”
The point that I want to make is that the emotions that I now feel when I look at these great works of art are now polluted with the imagery of my memories when I dealt with the military police in Arkansas. And while my story seems to be unique, all of the rest of my MAJestic cell had similar stories. And yes, others now call me a real sick person for having those images on my computer. I get it. I understand.
And now, I live a life where I cannot enjoy art like I used to.
I’ll never forget the phrase “you can paint houses“.
And this gem; “no one wants to see paintings like this when all you need do is take a picture“.
And of course the standard narrative; “people like you need to be locked up and separated from society until your malfunction can be corrected“.
We must realize and recognize that there are others, often sick people, who are in positions of power and control and who can squash your life out like an insect. Sick people. Evil people. In positions of power.
Mike Pompeo
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Takes away from the beauty of that great painting, eh?
Yes.
That’s my point.
Pat Robertson says God told him Trump ‘is going to win ...
https://www.christianpost.com/news/pat-robertson...
Oct 21, 2020 · Christian Broadcasting Network chairman and televangelist Pat Robertson said Monday that he believes God told him President Donald Trump will be re-elected for a second term but great civil unrest will ensue. “I want to say without question, Trump is going to win the election,” Robertson said on “The 700 Club” Tuesday. “… The election that’s coming up in just a few weeks at which time, according to what I believe the Lord told …
Art is all about the emotions you have while looking at the artwork
I enjoy art because of the feelings and the thoughts and memories they generate.
But, you know…
Some people cannot emote.
They cannot feel emotions. They cannot “relate” to others they are unable to emote or understand how others feel. To them, they cannot see art as anything other than a “thing”, a commodity that you can trick others into buying. These people with this mental illness occupy a significant percentage of our society. Some say that it is even as high as 10%. But one thing is for certain, the ability to make money and accumulate fortunes are in the strong suit for these people.
Thus, in a nation that values money above all else, where capitalism reins supreme you will find these people in positions of power and control.
Key “Republican” members of Government during the Trump Administration.
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The American leadership; the American Oligarchy are are… are… unable to emote. They are unable to experience emotions or understand the emotions of others.
Why?
What are these people’s problem?
Perhaps this video might provide some insight to how the rest of the world views America at this point in time. A point in time, mind you, where the government does not care about the citizens. It only cares of about keeping them down, subservient, and compliant, while they run amok in their crazy delusions and obscene objectives.
Uh…
And one more thing, you will never see this kind of information on any of the Alt-Right, Alt-Left or Mainstream American media. They would rather die than face the truth.
America as viewed by the rest of the world.
…
Keep that thought in mind. A thought that says that the craziest and most evil people thrive within the American capitalist “democracy” as it exists today. And the most evil, the most selfish, and the most manipulative are able to rise to extreme levels of power and control within the American environment.
Ah.
It’s upsetting.
But let’s move one and look at some more Art. Let’s consider the fact that unlike the products that are churned out of America today, these works endure. They persist and they are established as a stable foundation for what the human species represents. Let’s look at some more of the great works by William Adolphe Bouguereau.
La Vierge aux Anges
Here we have a trio of angels playing music for baby Jesus and the Virgin Mother Mary. I love this picture, and it evokes in me the feelings of love caring, compassion and peace.
This painting can be seen elsewhere on the internet. It is embraced by religious websites and in the websites devoted to greeting and gift cards. I have even seen (I believe) this work reproduced on pictures, post cards, and such things as plates and clocks. A simple image search on Google will help you all find the great diversity of the for-profit avenues that people have used with this work.
The Virgin with Angels
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Usually, Mary is depicted in blue and white, which I haven’t a clue as to why. And the angels tend to be in shades of white, which is also something that I have no idea about either. Never the less, this is a beautiful painting and very calming.
The Virgin with Angels is a 1900 painting by William-Adolphe Bouguereau. The painting media is oil on canvas, and it measures 185 × 285 cm (72.8 × 112.2 in). It’s a large painting at 6 feet by 9 feet. I imagine that when he painted this, he intended to show the love of the Mother Mary with the baby Jesus and the beauty and support of the surrounding angels. I cannot imagine what he would think that this image was being used on plates and cheap products at Walmart to support a for-profit motive.
When my home was raided they said nothing about this picture. Except maybe a quick pause before they turned the page. It’s hard to find something fundamentally wrong with angels playing violins and other musical instruments. So they just glossed over this painting and went on to the next one..
It’s lovely. Don’t you agree?
Petites Maraudeuses
But they did stop at this painting in the book.
This is a typical work of his. His works that depict children and the life of play are great themes and I well remember some homes of both uncles and aunties that had these kinds of works in their living rooms. (Of course, with a “Great Supper” painting in the kitchen or dining room.)
It is so calming…
It is titled “Little Thieves”. And while the detective and the police didn’t stop to read the captions or text inside the coffee table book, they used the artwork to grill me and goad me to admit to something ignorant and evil.
Petites Maraudeuses
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I once worked with a fellow engineer in Boston. He was a plastics engineer from Pakistan. He saw that I had a miniature reproduction (of this painting) in my office and fell in love with the painting. He used to come into my office and we would chat. But he would always look up at the painting with this kind of far-away look in his eyes. It meant something to him. But his pride was such that he would never admit to it.
So I gave it to him when I was sacked by the company (Laid Off). When I gave it to him he was surprised and he wondered why I did so, and that yes (of course) he would accept it. He said that he secretly loved the painting. He said that it reminded him of his boyhood home. In Pakistan.
To fully appreciate the art of Bouguereau one must profess a deep respect for the discipline of drawing and the craft of traditional picture-making; one must likewise submit to the mystery of illusion as one of painting's most characteristic and sublime powers. Bouguereau's vast repertory of playful and poetic images cannot help but appeal to those who are fascinated with nature's appearances and with the celebration of human sentiment frankly and unabashedly expressed.
But it remains to understand, given Bouguereau's in many ways unique style, exactly what the artist was trying to represent. Although Bouguereau has been classified by many writers as a Realist painter, because of the apparent photographic nature of his illusions, the painter otherwise has little in common with other artists belonging to the Realist movement. Bouguereau himself regarded his tastes as eclectic, and his work indeed exhibits characteristics peculiar to Neo-Classicism, Romanticism, and Impressionism, as well as to Realism.
Within these categories, the painter is perhaps best understood as a Romantic Realist, but one would also be quite justified in this case in devising an entirely new school of painting and labeling him the first, the quintessential Photo-Idealist. The designation is apt in that, although Bouguereau actively collected photographs and tempered his observations of nature with a keen awareness of the qualities of light inherent in the photographic image, he almost never worked from photographs.1
The rare exceptions are a few portraits, usually of posthumous subjects, which are readily identifiable as photographic derivatives as they exhibit an uncharacteristic flatness and pose.
Bouguereau and his fellow academicians practiced a method of painting that had been developed and refined over the centuries in order to bring to vivid life imagined scenes from history, literature, and fantasy. The process of acquisition of the skills necessary to produce a first-rate academic painting was a long and laborious one.
...
The idealizations of Bouguereau's imaginary universe, which have delighted some critics, have incurred the wrath of others. Although some of the latter have loudly lamented the over-romanticized image of the French peasant presented by the painter, few of them have bothered to contemplate the heroic attention required to sustain such a vision of perfection in a less than perfect age. Moreover, as Bouguereau's contemporary Emile Bayard observed:
It is good to note, in any case, that dirt and rags are not exclusive to the underprivileged and that indigence is not always clothed the same way. 4
A similar charge often leveled at Bouguereau is that his art bears little or no relationship to the realities of political, industrial, and urban life in nineteenth-century France.
But if Bouguereau's art ignores in its content the pressing issues of the day, it may very well be because the artist, though well aware of them, nevertheless prompts us to lift our eyes from the ground and focus upon the lures of distant Arcadia; when misery is afoot, to exalt the more pleasant possibilities of la vie champetre is not artistic falsehood.
If one pronounces Bouguereau to have been out of step with his time, what must one then conclude about the many, many critics and collectors and viewers who supported him and others of a similar artistic persuasion? Could he really have achieved such prominence and financial success by going against the grain of the "realities" of the nineteenth century?
Exactly what are those realities and exactly what attitude was a visual artist obligated to take toward them? If the accomplishments of Bouguereau are poorly understood today, that may have something to do with the shifting of aesthetic expectations over time.
As for Bouguereau's public, it was a public raised on Raphael , a public that had not yet been conditioned to prefer abstract ideas to the palpable images that give them utterance, a public that insisted upon an obvious narrative content and that saw in Bouguereau someone opposed to the trends it regarded as inimical to art.
It may very well be that a determining factor in Bouguereau's success as a painter, apart from his talent, was that he allied himself to that sizeable, conservative, and revisionist element of French Roman Catholicism which, under the aegis of such men as Louis Veuillot , popular theologian and publisher of L'Univers, refused to yield to the attacks on traditional ideals that were current at the time.
The craft of picture-making as practiced by Bouguereau basically followed the principles of academic theory as codified by the seventeenth-century aesthetician Roger de Piles.
The code embodied the fundamental idea whereby a painting could be judged logically and objectively by its conformity to ideals established for its divisible parts, which were determined to be: composition, drawing, color harmony, and expression.
The method Bouguereau used to execute his important paintings provided ample opportunity for the study and resolution of problems that might arise in each of these areas.
The separate steps leading to the genesis of a painting were:
Croquis and tracings
Oil sketch and/or grisaille study
Highly finished drawings for all the figures in the composition, as well as drapery studies and foliage studies
Detailed studies in oil for heads, hands, animals, etc.
Cartoon; and, only then
the finished painting.
Evidently Bouguereau was constantly making croquis or “thumb nail sketches.” Often these preliminary studies were done during meetings at the Institut or in the evenings after supper.
For the most part they were scribbled from the artist’s memory or imagination, others were sketched directly from nature.
These drawings, hitherto unknown to the public, constitute a very important element of Bouguereau’s work. For one thing, they yield a wealth of information about the artist’s method.
They also show in many cases how a particular composition evolved. Executed either in pencil or ink, they served as a means of determining the grandes lignes, the important linear flows and arabesques, within the entire composition and within individual figure groups as well. They were often refined by means of successive tracings.
The oil sketches, grisailles, and compositional studies in vine charcoal served as means for determining appropriate color harmonies and for the “spotting” of lights and darks.
Like the croquis, these were usually executed from imagination and yielded a fairly abstract pattern of colors and greys upon which the artist would later superimpose his observations from nature.
The figure drawings represented the first important contact with nature in the evolution of the work. Among the considerations of the artist at this point were anatomy, pose, foreshortening, perspective, proportion and, to some degree, modeling. Although Bouguereau was reputed to have the best models in Paris, some of them were not always the most cooperative; as one observer noted:
Bouguereau's Italian model-women are instructed to bring their infant offspring, their tiny sisters and brothers, and the progeny of their highly prolific quarter.
Once in the studio, the little human frogs are undressed and allowed to roll around on the floor, to play, to quarrel, and to wail in lamentation.
They dirty up the room a great deal — they bring in a great deal of dirt that they do not make. They are neither savory nor aristocratic nor angelic, these brats from the embryo-land of Virgil.
But out of them the artist makes his capital. Sketchbook in hand, he records their movements as they tumble on the floor; he draws the curves and turns of their aldermanic bodies, and he counts the creases of fat on their plump thighs as Audobon counted the scales on the legs of his humming-birds. 7
At times Bouguereau was obliged to use sculptural sources. J. Carroll Beckwith wrote:
Entering Bouguereau's studio one morning, before he had come up from his breakfast, I was studying with interest a large canvas half completed, representing a group of laughing children with a donkey [see cat. no. 72].
A gaudily attired Italian woman was endeavoring to pacify a curly-headed cherub, the model for the morning, who was ruthlessly rubbing his dirty fingers over some exquisite pencil drawings which lay on the floor at the foot of the easel.
I rescued the drawings, while the mother apologetically explained to me in Neapolitan French that M. Bouguereau spoiled all of her children so that she could do nothing with them at home or elsewhere.
The drawings were beautiful reproductions of the Laughing Faun in the sculpture gallery of the Louvre.
As Bouguereau entered the room, he began a series of frolics with the youngster which quite verified the words of the mother. [When be stopped] at last to set his palette, I asked him when he had made the drawings. "Oh, you see, that mauvais sujet is so wicked", said he, pointing to the curly-headed urchin turning somersaults on the floor, "that I can use him for nothing but color and was obliged to spend nearly all of yesterday afternoon at the Louvre, making these notes for the form. 8
If a particular figure was to be clothed, Bouguereau would also make drapery studies by posing a mannequin in place of the model and experimenting with the folds of cloth until a disposition was found that enhanced the underlying forms.
Sometimes, especially for small or single-figure paintings, Bouguereau drew the model already draped.
Most of the figure drawings were executed in pencil or charcoal (or a combination of the two) and were often heightened with white. The support for them is usually a heavyweight toned paper of medium grain; such a background allowed Bouguereau to dispense with the problem of rendering troublesome halftones which, in any event, were more easily and accurately realized in the painted studies.
To read more about his techniques, please go HERE. It goes into great detail and goes into the various mixes he used. Great stuff for certain.
Can you imagine trying to do this today? Man oh man, you’d be locked up for-ever.
Alma Parens L’âme parentale
Wow. Oh wow. This is an allegorical painting with a ton-load of meaning. It means “The Motherland”.
Of course, the folk in Arkansas found this work “disgusting“, “abhorrent to normal sensibilities” and further evidence of my “sick nature” and “outrageously dangerous desires”.
Sigh.
And yeah, I get it.
You all don’t want to hear what the nit-wits think in Arkansas. But you are gonna hear about it here. You can leave if you don’t like to face reality. The last four years in Washington was populated with these exact kind of people. And no, I am not going to “let by-gones be by-gones”…
It’s a uni-party. There are no Republicans nor Democrats. There is just the 10% of psychopaths that run the nation, and the rest of us being treated like cattle in the process.
Is this too “salty” for ya?
The Motherland
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I know that I am supposed to accept the fact that anything even remotely suggestive of children or sex is a threat to my very existence as I am now branded with the scarlet letter of being a “Sex Offender”. And I know that somehow, having those two images on my computer; the cartoon and the photo of the chick without clothes on created “victims”. I cannot reconcile how the image of a mother tending to her brood is in any way representative of the horrors so massively promoted in American media. You have to be a moron to connect the two…
…but, you know, have you looked at America today?
Know who you are dealing with, and recognize that these people still are in various positions in government today. Look at this jackass. Look at this pencil neck.
Tom Cotton (R-AR) is in a position of power to tell you how to live your life.
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Hey, check out the kinds of bills that he was working on in 2020. Keep in mind this one very important point. Which of his sponsored bills actually helps and supports normal, working people inside his district in Arkansas. Yeah. go over the list.
Which ones?
Go over the list. Where during 2020 has he sponsored any legislation to help his citizens aside from the emergency related to Coronavirus? Instead it seems like he’s got a real problem with sex, China, and making sure that the Untied States government is protected against the citizenry.
Colors in REDare all about China. Yeah, he most certainly has a real “hard on” about China.
Colors inBlueare all about sexual exploitation of children.
Colors in PURPLE are all about making the government immune from protests and legal actions by the citizenry.
Colors in GOLD are for dealing with the Coronavirus.
Do you really think he cares about people? Do you think that he cares about families? Do you think that he cares about anything other than money and hate?
Well… apparently God disagrees with me…
Evangelical Pastor Claims God Says, 'I'm Not Happy About ...
https://www.newsweek.com/evangelical-pastor-claims...
Nov 05, 2020 · Evangelical Pastor Claims God Says, 'I'm Not Happy About What You're Doing to My Man' Trump in Election. By Jason Lemon On 11/5/20 at 6:49 PM EST. U.S. Evangelicals Evangelical Christians Donald ...
These people… those that take the role in government… end up becoming a tool. They end up turning into something else. Something bad. And they allow terrible things to happen, because “they are just doing their job”...
Flagellation de Notre Seigneur Jesus Christ
The FlagellationofChrist, 1880 is one of Bouguereau's masterpieces, and today hangs at the Baptistery of La Rochelle Cathedral, France. Christ, tied to a column, limply hangs, his feet dragging on the ground and head hung back, he submits to his fate.
-Flagellation de Notre Seigneur JesusChrist
The Flagellation of Christ
The Flagellation of Christ, 1880 is one of Bouguereau's masterpieces, and today hangs at the Baptistery of La Rochelle Cathedral, France. Christ, tied to a column, limply hangs, his feet dragging on the ground and head hung back, he submits to his fate.
Two men stand in mid swing with their whipping ropes, with a third kneeling to the lower right fastening birch branches for the next stage of the torture. Unlike the two men who are whipping or the forth man standing behind with birch branches in the ready, the kneeling man tying the branches appears to show some remorse for his actions as his hand muscles loosen slightly with the pull of the string.
The viewer can feel the pain of Christ's torment, though his eyes are vacant of expression as if his soul is in another place. The crowd surrounding this event is filled with curious spectators.
To the left, a young boy shelters his eyes from the horrid sight by turning his back and pressing himself against his mother. To the right, just above Christ's head, a baby looks down at him sympathetically while hoisted up on his father's shoulders.
Through the crowd, a bearded man looks directly at the viewer, thereby pulling the audience into the scene as if they are too part of the crowd. It is possible that this bearded man with furrowed brow is a self portrait, so both Bouguereau and the viewer are witnessing this scene.
This life size capa d'opera is every bit as magnificent as any religious works done by Raphael, Caravaggio, or Velasquez. The harmonious interplay of drawing, paint handling, composition, perspective and emotional thrust are second to none in their expressive power.
-by Kara Lysandra Ross
Excerpt from the article: William Bouguereau and his Religious Works
And you know, the detective in charge of the entire raid and my case had some very piercing things to say about this work of art. And I have never forgotten her words…
“…this preoccupation with torture, young children, and nudes point to a serious mental illness that needs to be eradicated from our treasured citizenry…”
Yeah.
So you want to know what it was like for me being arrested and “investigated” in Arkansas…? Look at who the fuck is running that place, controlling the minds of the people there, and who are accumulating riches beyond compare. Look at them. For they ARE America.
Hard Right Religious Extremism and Law-Making makes for a dangerous situation.
Televangelist Pat Robertson says God told him Trump will ...
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8862797
Oct 21, 2020 · A televangelist has claimed that God told him President Donald Trump will win the upcoming election but that five years later an asteroid will hit …
Yah!
Beware of asteroids you all.
It’s all coo-coo!
When I joined MAJestic, I was instructed that I would be in it for life, but that I was forbidden to have children during my active engagements. I agreed, not realizing what that meant. I was also told that I would be alone, with no support and that I would not ever be rich or famous as that was a danger to the organization.
Maybe I was stupid for taking on this role? But I gave up so very much for this, and then to have myself retired like I was, and then have these jokers prance around in Washington DC like they do really upsets me.
I think that this exposure to what the American government is has taught me quite a bit as to what America has become; what it is, and where it is going. Unlike most Americans who read about this, or who read about that. I’ve experienced it first hand. Up front and viscerally. Don’t get all that caught up on what the media promotes. It’s all lies. Pay attending to the first-hand reports by others who’s veracity you can trust.
Cut out the bullshit.
Americans mostly resemble the inmates in a mental asylum. And the American leadership is just as messed up and corrupted to a degree that is nearly unfathomable.
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Anyways, art, like music is really meaningful to me. I remember an old black and white movies from the 1940s or 1950s where there is this guy in prison who paints. It’s his only love. It’s his only hobby. Then one day the warden visits him and see that the painter painted the warden. Not good. Not bad. But realistic. But the warden responded by taking away his ability to paint. And thus destroyed his only and sole source of happiness…
This theme was repeated in the movie “One flew over the Cuckoos nest”. Where as soon as one of the inmates showed any inkling or ability to resist the shackles that were around his legs, the powers that be made sure to destroy him beyond repair.
Americans mostly resemble the inmates in a mental asylum. And the American leadership is just as messed up and corrupted to a degree that is nearly unfathomable.
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Le Repos
In the ADC in Arkansas we were not permitted to have any fruit. None. And one inmate who was in there for a long, long time told me that he missed bananas. He said that he could picture them. He could smell them. He could remember peeling them. But that he hadn’t held or tasted a banana in over twenty years…
… yet when I look at these paintings I see a window to a time that is long gone. A quieter time, a more peaceful time, and a time where you could only commit a crime if there was a victim. There was no such things as a victimless crime, and that the fifth amendment guaranteed that I could confront my accuser in court. Not have that entire fail-safe ignored by a plea bargain.
These paintings and this art carries me away…
I just love these relaxed paintings. Maybe this kind of life will return back to America. What do you think?
Rest.
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This image represents my ideal.
Looking at the boys’ trousers makes me want to buy a new set of oils and brushes. I really want to paint those folds and shaded legs.
La Charité
Another lovely painting.
And yes. Yet another example of how “evil and disgusting” that I am for even suggesting that it is beautiful.
La Charité
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Yes, you know these people “talk with God” personally. And they know what evil is, and that they are the representation of what is good in the world and that which must be destroyed.
Don’t you know.
Look at this great representation of “good”…
“I had a very close talk with Jesus Christ this morning and he told me…”
Trump Will Start the End of the World, Claim Evangelicals ...
https://www.newsweek.com/trump-will-bring-about...
"For his evangelical supporters, there's a sense that Trump's unlikely election to the presidency proves that he has been chosen by God," Young told Newsweek. "He shouldn't have won the election ...
Entre la richesse et l’amour
This is an age-old issue. When a young lass can choose the life before her. While it is shown as extremes in age and wealth, the story persists. How can a woman in her blossoming years decide her future life? the translation of this painting is “Between wealth and Love”. And it speaks volumes. Don’t you think?
Between wealth and love
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My favorite part of this painting is the young lass’s hands. That’s just pure art.
Le Saintes Femmes au Tombeau
Le Saintes Femmes au Tombeau, 1890, translated to The Holy Women at the Tomb, depicts the three Marys, Mary the Mother of James, Mary Magdalene and Mary of Cleophas, at the tomb of the resurrection. The viewer, compositionally, is placed in a prostrated position and looking up first notices the expressions of bewilderment on the central Mary's face before looking past the three women and into the tomb.
-Le Saintes Femmes au Tombeau
Le Saintes Femmes au Tombeau
Compassion!
Compassion!
Donated by Bouguereau's descendents to the Musée D'Orsay, Paris, France, 2009
When one looks at The Compassion, 1897, at first glance the viewer may interpret this painting be simply a depiction of Christ on the Cross, with perhaps another saint, or victim.
A depiction not too different from thousands of other paintings of the subject; but in fact, the subject of this painting is not simply the event, but the conversion to Christianity through the compassion for the sacrifice Jesus made. The man with his head on Jesus' chest is a representation of every man and mankind as a whole.
The man in the painting shows the same empathy and bearing his own symbolic cross, has found his way to Jesus and his own redemption. Many Christians wear crosses around their necks to represent the same conviction, that they too have been sacrificed with Christ.
In the bible, when Jesus fell on his way to Calvary, a man from the crowd, Simon of Cyrene, went to Jesus and carried the cross for him, which was the inspiration for this widely accepted symbol.
The blood of Christ falls onto his hands, reiterating the blood sacrifice that was made for his benefit. On top of the cross a letter is posted which reads "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" in three languages, Greek, Latin, and Aramaic. Although in many depictions, Christ is crucified at the top of a mountain, Bouguereau chooses to depict the savior on a barren wasteland, symbolic of the man"s spiritual life before finding his way to Christ.
Bouguereau chose to keep this painting, which shows the importance his religion played in his own life, and it remained in his studio until its recent donation to the Musèe D'Orsay, Paris, France.
-by Kara Lysandra Ross
Excerpt from the article: William Bouguereau and his Religious Works
Berceuse
The painting, “Berceuse” is a delightful example of Bouguereau’s more domestic works. It shows a mother sitting in a rural landscape rocking her baby’s cradle as she works at spinning thread.
The title of the painting, “Berceuse” suggests that she is also singing a lullaby to her sleeping child at whom her calm, loving gaze is directed. The composition is strongly reminiscent of a Madonna and Child and the painting as a whole is beautifully executed.
Berceuse
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We can see from this painting that Bouguereau was a master of traditional academic painting and why he had wide appeal, in France and abroad, during his lifetime.
His approach to art, was however, heavily criticized by the rising impressionist painters, many of whom found much of their work rejected by the Salon. Instead they embraced more modern types and works of art. And we all know where that ended up…
Georges Seurat/white-dog
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After his death his reputation fell steeply and his paintings were no longer admired but were seen as vacuous or overly sentimental. It is only in recent decades that his work has begun to be re-evaluated and his paintings, such as “Berceuse” appreciated once more for the skill, artistry and dedication that Bourguereau brought to his work.
The Proposal
What kind of proposal is it? Marriage?
Hardly.
Some kind of plan being hatched… curious. Very curious.
The motif of a young man at a window, wooing a woman at her spinning wheel, and the vaguely sixteenth-century German costumes and setting, led writers to associate this painting with the tragic story of Faust and Marguerite.
Johann Georg Faust was said to be an alchemist, astrologer, and magician who lived during the Renaissance period in Germany.
He was an aging scholar, but at the end of his life, he fell out of love with his previously devoted scholastic endeavors in the accumulation of human knowledge. He is said to have made a contract with the devil, selling his soul to enjoy and partake in reckless earthly pleasures. The one who lured Faust away from his scholarly endeavors was said to be Méphistophélès, a malevolent devil.
The story of Faust has served as inspiration for numerous literary, artistic, cinematographic and musical works throughout the ages. Even the mere term ‘Faust’ has been used to refer to ambitious people who are willing to exchange moral values for strength and success in certain fields.
La Damnation de Faust – Tragic destiny
‘La Damnation de Faust’ is often interpreted to describe a tragic destiny resulting from a false wish, a trope that still holds relevance in contemporary society.
In the classic play, Faust is presented as an aging scholar in desperation. He has spent his whole life in search of wisdom just to find that at the end of it all, he has gained nothing. Youth, happiness, and achievement have all slipped away from him. Even the search for wisdom can no longer inspire him. To set him free from sorrow and depression, he decides to seek death.
In a singular moment, the resounding sound of a church bell and hymn remind him of his youth, of the time when he still held faith in religion. But that fleeting moment does not last long before the appearance of Méphistophélès, a malevolent devil, is seen before him. Faust, desperate and depressed almost at the point of suicide, accepts the devil’s offer of returning to him his youth, knowledge, and the fulfillment of all of his deepest desires. In return, he must, however, follow the devil and fall under his command.
Seemingly, the vague and fleeting religious memory Faust experienced moments before the appearance of the devil was not enough to revive in him a strong faith in religion, in a God that he once had.|
Naturally, Faust now has all that he was craving, yet, there was no way for him to know where the journey ahead would lead him.
After Méphistophélès fulfills his side of the bargain he encourages Faust to seduce Marguerite, an innocent girl whom Faust had an unrequited love for, and then abandon her, alone and pregnant.
Faust and Marguerite in the Garden, by James Tissot (1861). (Wikimedia Commons/Public domain)
Her life falls into ruin and, so, in an effort to save his lover, Faust agrees to relinquish his soul to devil Méphistophélès. With this decision, he gives the devil every reason and ability to drag him to hell. Which he does, tragically and immediately. Perhaps his final destiny was predetermined from the very moment he accepted the offer of the devil Méphistophélès.
It is a tale that resembles the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The devil Méphistophélès plays a role not dissimilar to the role of the serpent that tempted Eve to take a bite of the apple. Once Adam and Eve succumbed to the serpent to eat the forbidden fruit, it was determined that they would be expelled from the Garden of Eden.
In the case of Faust, he yields to lust and worldly desires and culminates in hell. It is the inevitable fate for the one that chooses to go against good and side with evil.
The story of Faust: An awakening bell
In the contemporary era of the robust development of science and technology, in most cases, science and knowledge play a positive role in society, but at times, it can assume a negative role, as well. Especially when the scholars and scientists ignore moral and humanistic values, and put their fame and interest on top, they would disregard any adverse impact that their work might impose on humanity.
Don’t we catch the image of Faust in communist philosophers, in surgeons involved in live organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners and in the development of nuclear warfare, to name a few?
No matter what excuse they can make, the undermining effect on human society that they exert is irrefutable.
In this aspect, the story of Faust can still prove its relevance to today’s society and serve as the awakening bell for those who choose to go down that path.
-La Damnation de Faust
The seduction of the innocent heroine by the wicked Faust was a popular pictorial subject in the nineteenth century, inspired by Goethe’s dramatic poem and its operatic staging by Charles Gounod.
Regardless of the lovers’ identities, the lushly painted, romantic scene would have appealed to Bouguereau’s well-heeled clientele.
Admiration Maternelle – Le Bain
'M. Bouguereau is a true artist, one of the most accomplished in Paris.'
-Edmond About, 1866
Admiration Maternelle – Le Bain
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Beginning in 1865, Bouguereau became interested in themes of mothers and children and he began a series of paintings devoted to this subject matter. These classically-informed images were greatly influenced by his travels throughout Italy in the 1850s.
Trekking from Naples all the way to Venice over a two year period, Bouguereau was frequently confronted by religious imagery, and he was particularly impressed with the works of Raphael.
A painting by Raphael.
These images of mothers and children may have been further reinforced by the birth of the artist’s fourth child in 1868, a son named Adolphe Paul. It was also in this year that the artist moved his family into the house on rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs, with its large studio on the top floor of the house.
Admiration maternelle – le bain, most likely painted in the artist’s studio in 1869, depicts a young Roman mother holding her naked baby on her lap. The baby clasps an orange before him, while his older sister looks on adoringly, her hands folded together as if in prayer.
These three figures, clearly a secularized interpretation of a Holy Family or Madonna and Child with St. John, are bathed in a clear warm light which illuminates the freshly washed hair of the baby, creating a halo around his head and enhancing the association with the Christ Child.
The bowl and washcloth occupy the immediate center of the composition, bringing to mind the chalice and cloth of the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The room behind the figural group is softened by the shadows of the recesses of the interior, thereby heightening the importance of the figural group.
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There is a photograph in the Goupil Museum in Bordeaux and in Bouguereau’s own collection of what appears to be this work (Ross and Bartoli, 1869/02) without the linen towel and basin, a different bench and a slightly different background.
It is possible that the initial purchaser of the painting asked for the changes to be made, as was the case with La Bohémienne, which also had two different backgrounds.
Admiration maternelle was in the collection of George Small of Baltimore by 1879, and remained in the Small family until 1984. George Small was the President of the Ashland Iron Company and a director of the Northern Central Railroad and the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad. He amassed a fortune, but he and his wife had no children, so the painting passed to his brother’s family upon his death in 1891.
Admiration Maternelle
He does capture the moment perfectly. Doesn’t he?
Maternal Admiration
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I love his work. I really do.
Conclusions
The artist was master of his medium and in control of his life in that time, and at that place…
In a corner of the garden measuring some two hundred square feet, he arranged his outdoor studio; and in the orangery he set up his interior studio. At six in the morning, rain or shine, drizzle or wind, escorted by his three dogs and a servant, he sets out for a two-hour walk through the fields or along the seashore. Once home, he has a cup of tea and settles down to work. At eleven, the family gathers for lunch; at one, he resumes work with his model and continues until six in the evening, with a few short breaks.
Then the painter picks up his rustic cane and his soft-felt hat and leaves, a cigarette between his lips, like any ordinary bourgeois, for a walk around the harbor, to watch the sun set on the sea.
When the town clocks chime seven, he goes back home for dinner; and at ten, it is curfew time. At dawn on Sundays, the master and his wife climb into a carriage to meet a childhood friend, an architect in a neighboring village, for an outing in the countryside or, during hunting season, to take a few pot shots, in his own words, "at hypothetical quails or the occasional rabbit."
When I look at these beautiful art works I still have stirrings of emotions. But that is now tainted with memories of the experiences that I had in Arkansas.
Memories that came into being by the actions of the government there; a government that employed people from both political parties… working in unison for their own self-worth and future fortunes. Greedy fucks. Ignorant of the true realities and consequences of their actions and their activities.
You take something that I enjoyed and you poison it with bad memories. It’s that the very fundamental nature of PTSD?
Memories that were and still are painful.
In fact, I often wonder if this was it’s intended purpose, by a some gleeful evil psychopaths to forever alter my love of art and to convert it and change it into something substantially different.
Into a ugly and foul thing…
Much like the premise in the movie A Clockwork Orange.
A controversial and offensive masterpiece. tyson-hunsaker31 January 2017
Anyone looking to watch A Clockwork Orange might be wanting to revisit some of Stanley Kubrik's work and might be interested in studying this film. Those who have already seen this film tend to already have strong opinions regarding this dark sci-fi movie but for me, I approached this film recently to obtain an opinion for myself and study one of the great masters of cinema.
The fact that this film was regarded as one of the most controversial films ever made (rightfully so) sparked genuine curiosity to give this flick a full viewing and while I have large issues with the film, the experience as a whole was both satisfying and a learning experience.
This story centers on "Alex" our main protagonist and his gang of hoodlums set in a not so distant, dystopian Great Britain. The beginning portion unfolds Alex's dark and twisted soul as we watch him and his gang fight, rape, and kill.
When he's eventually caught, he undergoes controversial "treatment" to be cured of his dark soul.
I first appreciated the inmate concepts of this story and the type of questions the story attempted to raise to the audience. Furthermore, much of the psychological ideologies surrounding freedom, choice, good vs evil, and selfishness were extremely thought-provoking. It had a way of making me feel self-exploratory despite the character's complete inability to relate with (hopefully) any viewer.
Performances were top notch; especially from the lead: Malcom McDowell. His performance felt so authentic there's never a single moment that feels fake or forced with his dark character. As always, Stanley Kubrick directs the hell out of this. His commanding and authoritative shooting style is apparent in every frame of the picture and he does a wonderful job at sucking the viewer into this terrible world to the point of enthrallment.
While all these positives make for a great movie-going experience and when Kubrick is at the director's helm not much can go wrong, the film's biggest downfall is indeed its controversy. Disturbing subject matter in this piece is indeed vital to the essence of the story but taking off the gloves when it comes to fighting, rape, and killing (especially the rape) make this so incredibly disturbing that it's difficult to muscle through.
I found that A Clockwork Orange was not only offense because of its disturbing content, it was personally offensive in so many ways. Frankly, these extremely rare and offensive movie experiences are not quite the reason I enjoy films in the first place; stories can still be thought-provoking while not morally offend and damage the viewer internally. In addition, a viewer looking to study the work of Stanley Kubrick can still experience some of cinema's greatest and transcendent experiences without feeling like their conscience has blackened.
It's understandable that not everyone feels this way; just as stated before, opinions about this film are all across the board. As time has passed however, A Clockwork Orange has stood out has one of Kubrick's finest and has been adored by die-hard fans so much its fan base has grown over the years.
The best advice to give is to see it for yourself. Much like all other Kubrick films, relying on anyone's opinion won't help one bit. Seeing it and deciding for yourself is the best course of action. That being said, despite it's strong artistic merit, I wouldn't recommend seeing it simply because of the morally offensive and sickening content that most don't appreciate. Overall, it's been the hardest one to review in a long time because it's not a simple: see it or don't see it. There's much more to this picture than that. If you do decide to see it though, be warned and well prepared. If not, that's probably just fine too.
There is nothing different from my “reprogramming” by the Arkansas government, and what happened to Alex in the movie “A Clockwork Orange”.
A clockwork orange.
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Perhaps China is correct in preventing their nation any kind of access by these evil, evil people. People who have no compassion. People who cannot see beauty and purpose. People who look good, and say the right things, but are corrupted, and evil to their fundamental core.
Evil people.
In positions of extreme power…
…in a dying military empire.
Are inherently dangerous.
Six of the thirty that have been sanctioned by China in January 2021.
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Back in Rome
All this reminds me of the behaviors of the government of Rome when it was at the height of decay and corruption. Consider their idea for a “half time show” in the Arena…
The enormous arena was empty, save for the seesaws and the dozens of condemned criminals who sat naked upon them, hands tied behind their backs. Unfamiliar with the recently invented contraptions known as petaurua, the men tested the seesaws uneasily. One criminal would push off the ground and suddenly find himself 15 feet in the air while his partner on the other side of the seesaw descended swiftly to the ground. How strange.
In the stands, tens of thousands of Roman citizens waited with half-bored curiosity to see what would happen next and whether it would be interesting enough to keep them in their seats until the next part of the "big show" began.
With a flourish, trapdoors in the floor of the arena were opened, and lions, bears, wild boars and leopards rushed into the arena. The starved animals bounded toward the terrified criminals, who attempted to leap away from the beasts' snapping jaws. But as one helpless man flung himself upward and out of harm's way, his partner on the other side of the seesaw was sent crashing down into the seething mass of claws, teeth and fur.
The crowd of Romans began to laugh at the dark antics before them. Soon, they were clapping and yelling, placing bets on which criminal would die first, which one would last longest and which one would ultimately be chosen by the largest lion, who was still prowling the outskirts of the arena's pure white sand. [See Photos of the Combat Sports Played in Ancient Rome]
And with that, another "halftime show" of damnatio ad bestias succeeded in serving its purpose: to keep the jaded Roman population glued to their seats, to the delight of the event's scheming organizer.
The Roman Games were the Super Bowl Sundays of their time. They gave their ever-changing sponsors and organizers (known as editors) an enormously powerful platform to promote their views and philosophies to the widest spectrum of Romans. All of Rome came to the Games: rich and poor, men and women, children and the noble elite alike. They were all eager to witness the unique spectacles each new game promised its audience.
To the editors, the Games represented power, money and opportunity. Politicians and aspiring noblemen spent unthinkable sums on the Games they sponsored in the hopes of swaying public opinion in their favor, courting votes, and/or disposing of any person or warring faction they wanted out of the way.
The more extreme and fantastic the spectacles, the more popular the Games with the general public, and the more popular the Games, the more influence the editor could have. Because the Games could make or break the reputation of their organizers, editors planned every last detail meticulously.
Thanks to films like "Ben-Hur" and "Gladiator," the two most popular elements of the Roman Games are well known even to this day: the chariot races and the gladiator fights. Other elements of the Roman Games have also translated into modern times without much change: theatrical plays put on by costumed actors, concerts with trained musicians, and parades of much-cared-for exotic animals from the city's private zoos.
But much less discussed, and indeed largely forgotten, is the spectacle that kept the Roman audiences in their seats through the sweltering midafternoon heat: the blood-spattered halftime show known as damnatio ad bestias — literally "condemnation by beasts" — orchestrated by men known as the bestiarii.Super Bowl 242 B.C: How the Games Became So Brutal
The cultural juggernaut known as the Roman Games began in 242 B.C., when two sons decided to celebrate their father's life by ordering slaves to battle each other to the death at his funeral. This new variation of ancient munera (a tribute to the dead) struck a chord within the developing republic. Soon, other members of the wealthy classes began to incorporate this type of slave fighting into their own munera. The practice evolved over time — with new formats, rules, specialized weapons, etc. — until the Roman Games as we now know them were born.
In 189 B.C., a consul named M. Fulvius Nobilior decided to do something different. In addition to the gladiator duels that had become common, he introduced an animal act that would see humans fight both lions and panthers to the death. Big-game hunting was not a part of Roman culture; Romans only attacked large animals to protect themselves, their families or their crops.
Nobilior realized that the spectacle of animals fighting humans would add a cheap and unique flourish to this fantastic new pastime. Nobilior aimed to make an impression, and he succeeded. [Photos: Gladiators of the Roman Empire]
With the birth of the first "animal program," an uneasy milestone was achieved in the evolution of the Roman Games: the point at which a human being faced a snarling pack of starved beasts, and every laughing spectator in the crowd chanted for the big cats to win, the point at which the republic's obligation to make a man's death a fair or honorable one began to be outweighed by the entertainment value of watching him die.
Twenty-two years later, in 167 B.C., Aemlilus Paullus would give Rome its first damnatio ad bestias when he rounded up army deserters and had them crushed, one by one, under the heavy feet of elephants. "The act was done publicly," historian Alison Futrell noted in her book "Blood in the Arena," "a harsh object lesson for those challenging Roman authority."
The "satisfaction and relief" Romans would feel watching someone considered lower than themselves be thrown to the beasts would become, as historian Garrett G. Fagan noted in his book "The Lure of the Arena," a "central … facet of the experience [of the Roman Games. … a feeling of shared empowerment and validation … " In those moments, Rome began the transition into the self-indulgent decadence that would come to define all that we associate with the great society's demise.
The Role of Julius Caesar
General Julius Caesar proved to be the first true maestro of the Games. He understood how these events could be manipulated to inspire fear, loyalty and patriotism, and began to stage the Games in new and ingenious ways. For example, Caesar was the first to arrange fights between recently captured armies, gaining firsthand knowledge of the fighting techniques used by these conquered people and providing him with powerful insights to aid future Roman conquests, all the while demonstrating the republic's own superiority to the roaring crowd of Romans. After all, what other city was powerful enough to command foreign armies to fight each other to the death, solely for their viewing pleasure?
Caesar used exotic animals from newly conquered territories to educate Romans about the empire's expansion. In one of his games, "Animals for Show and Pleasure in Ancient Rome" author George Jennison notes that Caesar orchestrated "a hunt of four hundred lions, fights between elephants and infantry … [and] bull fighting by mounted Thessalians." Later, the first-ever giraffes seen in Rome arrived — a gift to Caesar himself from a love-struck Cleopatra.
To execute his very specific visions, Caesar relied heavily on the bestiarii — men who were paid to house, manage, breed, train and sometimes fight the bizarre menagerie of animals collected for the Games.
Managing and training this ever-changing influx of beasts was not an easy task for the bestiarii. Wild animals are born with a natural hesitancy, and without training, they would usually cower and hide when forced into the arena's center. For example, it is not a natural instinct for a lion to attack and eat a human being, let alone to do so in front of a crowd of 100,000 screaming Roman men, women and children! And yet, in Rome's ever-more-violent culture, disappointing an editor would spell certain death for the low-ranking bestiarii.
To avoid being executed themselves, bestiarii met the challenge. They developed detailed training regimens to ensure their animals would act as requested, feeding arena-born animals a diet compromised solely of human flesh, breeding their best animals, and allowing their weaker and smaller stock to be killed in the arena. Bestiarii even went so far as to instruct condemned men and women on how to behave in the ring to guarantee a quick death for themselves — and a better show. The bestiarii could leave nothing to chance.
As their reputations grew, bestiarii were given the power to independently devise new and even more audacious spectacles for the ludi meridiani (midday executions). And by the time the Roman Games had grown popular enough to fill 250,000-seat arenas, the work of the bestiarii had become a twisted art form.
As the Roman Empire grew, so did the ambition and arrogance of its leaders. And the more arrogant, egotistic and unhinged the leader in power, the more spectacular the Games would become. Who better than the bestiarii to aid these despots in taking their version of the Roman Games to new, ever-more grotesque heights?
Caligula Amplified the Cruelty
Animal spectacles became bigger, more elaborate, and more flamboyantly cruel.
Damnatio ad bestias became the preferred method of executing criminals and enemies alike. So important where the bestiarii's contribution, that when butcher meat became prohibitively expensive, Emperor Caligula ordered that all of Rome's prisoners "be devoured" by the bestiarii's packs of starving animals. In his masterwork De Vita Caesarum, Roman historian Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (b. 69 A.D.) tells of how Caligula sentenced the men to death "without examining the charges" to see if death was a fitting punishment, but rather by "merely taking his place in the middle of a colonnade, he bade them be led away 'from baldhead to baldhead,'"(It should also be noted that Caligula used the funds originally earmarked for feeding the animals and the prisoners to construct temples he was building in his own honor!)
To meet this ever-growing pressure to keep the Roman crowds happy and engaged by bloodshed, bestiarii were forced to consistently invent new ways to kill.
They devised elaborate contraptions and platforms to give prisoners the illusion they could save themselves — only to have the structures collapse at the worst possible moments, dropping the condemned into a waiting pack of starved animals. Prisoners were tied to boxes, lashed to stakes, wheeled out on dollies and nailed to crosses, and then, prior to the animals' release, the action was paused so that bets could be made in the crowd about which of the helpless men would be devoured first.
Perhaps most popular — as well as the most difficult to pull off — were the re-creations of death scenes from famous myths and legends. A single bestiarius might spend months training an eagle in the art of removing a thrashing man's organs (a la the myth of Prometheus).
The halftime show of damnatio ad bestias became so notorious that it was common for prisoners to attempt suicide to avoid facing the horrors they knew awaited them. Roman philosopher and statesmen Seneca recorded a story of a German prisoner who, rather than be killed in a bestiarius' show, killed himself by forcing a communally used prison lavatory sponge down his throat. One prisoner who refused to walk into the arena was placed on a cart and wheeled in; the prisoner thrust his own head between the spokes of its wheels, preferring to break his own neck than to face whatever horrors the bestiarius had planned for him.
It is in this era that Rome saw the rise of its most famous bestiarius, Carpophorus, "The King of the Beasts."
The Rise of a Beast Master
Carpophorus was celebrated not only for training the animals that were set upon the enemies, criminals and Christians of Rome, but also for famously taking to the center of the arena to battle the most fearsome creatures himself.
He triumphed in one match that pitted him against a bear, a lion and a leopard, all of which were released to attack him at once. Another time, he killed 20 separate animals in one battle, using only his bare hands as weapons. His power over animals was so unmatched that the poet Martial wrote odes to Carpophorus.
"If the ages of old, Caesar, in which a barbarous earth brought forth wild monsters, had produced Carpophorus," he wrote in his best known work, Epigrams. "Marathon would not have feared her bull, nor leafy Nemea her lion, nor Arcadians the boar of Maenalus. When he armed his hands, the Hydra would have met a single death; one stroke of his would have sufficed for the entire Chimaera. He could yoke the fire-bearing bulls without the Colchian; he could conquer both the beasts of Pasiphae. If the ancient tale of the sea monster were recalled, he would release Hesione and Andromeda single-handed. Let the glory of Hercules' achievement be numbered: it is more to have subdued twice ten wild beasts at one time."
To have his work compared so fawningly to battles with some of Rome’s most notorious mythological beast sheds some light on the astounding work Carpophorus was doing within the arena, but he gained fame as well for his animal work behind the scenes. Perhaps most shockingly, it was said that he was among the few bestiarii who could command animals to rape human beings, including bulls, zebras, stallions, wild boars and giraffes, among others. This crowd-pleasing trick allowed his editors to create ludi meridiani that could not only combine sex and death but also claim to be honoring the god Jupiter. After all, in Roman mythology, Jupiter took many animal forms to have his way with human women.
Historians still debate how common of an occurrence public bestiality was at the Roman Games — and especially whether forced bestiality was used as a form of execution — but poets and artists of the time wrote and painted about the spectacle with a shocked awe.
"Believe that Pasiphae coupled with the Dictaean bull!" Martial wrote. "We've seen it! The Ancient Myth has been confirmed! Hoary antiquity, Caesar, should not marvel at itself: whatever Fame sings of, the arena presents to you."
The 'Gladiator' Commodus
The Roman Games and the work of the bestiarii may have reached their apex during the reign of Emperor Commodus, which began in 180 AD. By that time, the relationship between the emperors and the Senate had disintegrated to a point of near-complete dysfunction. The wealthy, powerful and spoiled emperors began acting out in such debauched and deluded ways that even the working class "plebs" of Rome were unnerved. But even in this heightened environment, Commodus served as an extreme.
Having little interest in running the empire, he left most of the day-to-day decisions to a prefect, while Commodus himself indulged in living a very public life of debauchery. His harem contained 300 girls and 300 boys (some of whom it was said had so bewitched the emperor as he passed them on the street that he felt compelled to order their kidnapping). But if there was one thing that commanded Commodus' obsession above all else, it was the Roman Games. He didn't just want to put on the greatest Games in the history of Rome; he wanted to be the star of them, too.
Commodus began to fight as a gladiator. Sometimes, he arrived dressed in lion pelts, to evoke Roman hero Hercules; other times, he entered the ring absolutely naked to fight his opponents. To ensure a victory, Commodus only fought amputees and wounded soldiers (all of whom were given only flimsy wooden weapons to defend themselves). In one dramatic case recorded in Scriptores Historiae Augustae, Commodus ordered that all people missing their feet be gathered from the Roman streets and be brought to the arena, where he commanded that they be tethered together in the rough shape of a human body. Commodus then entered the arena's center ring, and clubbed the entire group to death, before announcing proudly that he had killed a giant.
But being a gladiator wasn't enough for him. Commodus wanted to rule the halftime show as well, so he set about creating a spectacle that would feature him as a great bestiarius. He not only killed numerous animals — including lions, elephants, ostriches and giraffes, among others, all of which had to be tethered or injured to ensure the emperor's success — but also killed bestiarii whom he felt were rivals (including Julius Alexander, a bestiarius who had grown beloved in Rome for his ability to kill an untethered lion with a javelin from horseback). Commodus once made all of Rome sit and watch in the blazing midday sun as he killed 100 bears in a row — and then made the city pay him 1 millions esterces (ancient Roman coins) for the (unsolicited) favor.
By the time Commodus demanded the city of Rome be renamed Colonia Commodiana ("City of Commodus") — Scriptores Historiae Augustae, noted that not only did the Senate "pass this resolution, but … at the same time [gave] Commodus the name Hercules, and [called] him a god" — a conspiracy was already afoot to kill the mad leader. A motley crew of assassins — including his court chamberlain, Commodus' favorite concubine, and "an athlete called Narcissus, who was employed as Commodus' wrestling partner" — joined forces to kill him and end his unhinged reign. His death was supposed to restore balance and rationality to Rome — but it didn't. By then, Rome was broken — bloody, chaotic and unable to stop its death spiral.
In an ultimate irony, reformers who stood up to oppose the culture's violent and debauched disorder were often punished by death at the hands of the bestiarii, their deaths cheered on by the very same Romans whom they were trying to protect and save from destruction.
The Death of the Games and the Rise of Christianity
As the Roman Empire declined, so did the size, scope and brutality of its Games. However, it seems fitting that one of the most powerful seeds of the empire's downfall could be found within its ultimate sign of contempt and power — the halftime show of damnatio ad bestias.
Early Christians were among the most popular victims in ludi meridiani. The emperors who condemned these men, women and children to public death by beasts did so with the obvious hope that the spectacle would be so horrifying and humiliating that it would discourage any other Romans from converting to Christianity.
Little did they realize that the tales of brave Christians facing certain death with grace, power and humility made them some of the earliest martyr stories. Nor could they have imagined that these oft-repeated narratives would then serve as invaluable tools to drive more people toward the Christian faith for centuries to come.
In the end, who could have ever imagined that these near-forgotten "halftime shows" might prove to have a more lasting impact on the world than the gladiators and chariot races that had overshadowed the bestiarii for their entire existence?
Read more from Aptowicz in her Expert Voices essay, "Surgery in a Time Before Anesthesia."
The argument about the comparisons between ancient Rome and America today is that the horrific tortures and debauchery just does not occur in America today.
I beg to differ.
I argue that the horrors committed by the national leadership and the techniques of manipulation of the people may have changed form, but they have not been eliminated. Rather, they exist in other ways, other means, and using other technology.
America today
Ah it’s time to return back to a simpler time when people like these would never ever get an opportunity to go anywhere next to the levers of power. A simpler time when people lived life in absolute freedom and never knew fear, 24-7 surveillance, and did not fear their government. A time much as was portrayed in the classical art venues.
And these evil men; these evil people? What got them there to the positions of power and absolute corruption that they currently enjoy?
A corrupt “democratic” process. That is what.
What ever happens in the United States, and no matter what changes will be implemented, any kind of democratic institution of any kind will revert to this exact same game-plan. Nothing will change. The founders of the Untied States were absolutely correct. A democracy turns into a corrupt oligarchy and unless countered, evolves into a dangerous military empire. And the citizens… well… they devolve into frightened sheep, ready for dinner.
Oh, and what happened to my own personal paintings?
You might want to know what happened to all my art that I created, my painting supplies, my painting easel, and my paints. You might want to know what happened to my loves, my dreams and my passions…
While I was incarcerated, my father handled my belongings. He held a yard sale and sold the painting for a $1 each. One man decided to buy them all up. He said that he really liked them, and they was going to use the paintings (all were oil on wood panel) to “wallpaper” his walls with. So …
… I well remember the beaming pride that my father had when he handed me a check for some $350 odd dollars. Not realizing that the materials alone were worth ten times that amount.
…and my other belongings…
The remaining belongings were put on the sidewalk and hauled away as trash. My books were collected and given to a friend to watch over. Who later suddenly dies, and his sister sold all of them in bulk to a used book seller.
He saved one suitcase and some articles of clothing, some things that were truly “WTF did he save this for”, and the screws (?) to my massive king-sized solid hardwood bed, that he simply threw away. (I paid over $3500 for that thick massive bed back in 1998. It was totally and completely awesome!) Everything else was destroyed, lost or sold off for pennies on the dollar.
My cars… he gave them away.
My Toyota Celica was driven to the dealership. He handed them the keys. Said I was in prison and didn’t want the car any longer.
My Cadillac Deville. was discovered with sliced tires, a engine (and transmission) filled with sugar and totally gummed up and useless. (It was towed away to a junk yard.)
My Ford T-Bird was left in the airport. I asked my father to get the car for me. I was in prison and was unable to get it out of the lot. But it was too much of a hassle. So he called the parking lot owner and told them “the situation”. Instead of being understanding they responded with “Sex Offender! Tough shit! That car is mine now!” and classified it as abandoned and started the necessary legal paperwork to claim it as their own.
His response to me was “you can go get new ones when you get out of prison.”
With what, Dad? My good looks and a spit shine? Not even McDonald’s would hire me.
The last four years of non-stop HATE CHINA! propaganda is ending. And those people who drove that narrative and forced the complete “fire hose” of disinformation, lies, distortions and insults are not only being axed and sent out the door, but they are being applauded by the working folk as they leave too. Good riddance…
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There is very little information about French artist Henri-Paul Motte (1846 – 1922) online. Motte studied under Jean-Léon Gérôme and was a regular exhibitor at the Paris Salon.
I love his work, and I consider it very curious and interesting. However when I point it out to some of the younger folk today they just shrug their shoulders and say that Instagram has better photos, and that painting and art is too “rigid” and not suitable for their tastes.
They explain that representative art is just an old style of photography from before the time of the invention of the camera. Since the camera is “better” at recording images, that art need not be true to form, but can be free-form and shapeless.
I disagree.
I guess that I am just an old codger. I guess.
Here’s some great examples of Motte’s work. To fully appreciate what is going on, you do need a few short history lessons. But, it’s all fun and very interesting. I’ll tell you what.
The Fiancée of Belus
I’ve always loved this painting. It’s rather fantastic, and unlikely to be historically accurate, but never the less, it’s beautiful.
For the Tyrian king in Roman mythology, see Belus (Tyrian). Belus was the son of Poseidon and Libya; a descendant of the river god Inachus and nymph Melia. His brother was King Agenor of Phoenicia and he was married to Achiroe, the daughter of the river god Chremetes. Achiroe's sister Telephassa, was married to Agenor.
-Belus | Mythology wiki
The painting is concerned with a major player of the “Thirty Years War”.
Armand Jean du Plessis de Richelieu, Cardinal-Duc de Richelieu (September 9, 1585 – December 4, 1642), was a French clergyman, noble, and statesman. He was consecrated as a bishop in 1607, he later entered politics, becoming a Secretary of State in 1616. Richelieu soon rose in both the Church and the state, becoming a cardinal in 1622, and King Louis XIII's chief minister in 1624. He remained in office until his death in 1642; he was succeeded by Jules Cardinal Mazarin.
The Cardinal de Richelieu was often known by the title of the King's "Chief Minister." He sought to consolidate royal power and crush domestic factions. By restraining the power of the nobility, he transformed France into a strong, centralized state. His chief foreign policy objective was to check the power of the Austro-SpanishHabsburg dynasty. Although he was a Roman Catholic cardinal, he did not hesitate to make alliances with Protestant rulers in attempting to achieve this goal. His tenure was marked by the Thirty Years' War that engulfed Europe.
-Cardinal Richelieu - New World Encyclopedia
Well, when Roman armies set about the conquest of Iron Age Britain in AD 43, they later attacked Anglesey under the command of Suetonius Paullinus. The Romans’ Celtic enemies appeared at the shore, among them women in black with torches aflame, resembling mythical Furies.
Suetonius – ultimately victorious – took care to demolish his opponents’ sacred altars, which were stained with the blood of sacrificed humans.
The ones apparently responsible for this were the Druids, the educated ‘upper’ class who supposedly officiated as magician-priests, even lawmakers, and who shielded the mysteries of Celtic religious beliefs.
Julius Caesar – in his Gallic Wars – also mentions human sacrifice among the Celtic upper echelons, with their victims immolated in a huge pyre. (The inspiration for the 1973 pagan horror movie, The Wicker Man.)
Ancient historian Diodorus Siculus mentioned that one of the Druids’ methods of divining the future was to stab a man in the chest, then observe how he moved in his death throes. So could these elite, educated men also be the barbarians committing human sacrifice?
For that matter, how much do we really know about the Druids, anyway?
Some authorities say we know next to nothing, and not even the accounts of ancient historians are to be relied upon. One of them is Professor Ronald Hutton – and I agree (the reasons are given below.)
‘In 1984, peat-cutters at Lindow Moss in Cheshire found a well-preserved body which was eventually dated to the first century AD.
‘Lindow Man’ … appeared to have undergone a ritual killing, and his stomach contents included grains of mistletoe pollen.
Proof at last, it was said, that the Greeks and Romans were right: Druidic sacrifice was a grisly business, involving both mistletoe and blood. But when Ronald Hutton discusses this evidence, he shows that not a single detail can be relied on.
The pollen consisted of four grains – a literally microscopic quantity, which might have just blown on to the man’s lunch.
What looked like garroting might have been just the effects of a corroded necklace, and the gash to the man’s jugular could have been caused by peat-cutting equipment.
As for the Greek and Roman authors, few had any first-hand knowledge of Druids in either Gaul or Britain; and the one who was best placed to gain it, Julius Caesar, seems to have copied his information about Druids out of somebody else’s writings instead.’
Despite (or because) of our lack of inner knowledge of the Druids, they have fascinated commentators for generations. This is especially true for modern neo-pagans, drawn to their veneer of secrecy and their mystique as guardians of unfathomable, arcane wisdom.
But there are no texts recording their own beliefs, no contemporary origin stories, as with Christianity – there is no ancient Celtic Bible!
Accordingly, the word ‘Druid’ is not Celtic but a conflation of the Greek word drus (oak tree or oak wood) and the Indo-European infinitive wid (‘to know’). Thus, a Druid is, metaphorically, ‘one who knows the oak’.
Oak trees have a special totemic power and sanctity in Celtic tradition.
It was the Druids’ task to interpret the handiwork of the gods in all its forms, and with its long age and great size, the oak represents everything that speaks of life, that has strength, that endures, that appears immortal, even.
The Druids and the Mistletoe
This brings us to that fabled object of ritual desire, the mistletoe. In fact, we’re about to open the door to a treasure trove of magical symbolism. Here is what the Roman historian Pliny (c. AD 77) had to say about the Druids:
‘The Druids—for that is the name they give to their magicians held nothing more sacred than the mistletoe and the tree that bears it, supposing always that tree to be the robur [Latin for oak]…
In fact, it is the notion with them that everything that grows on it has been sent immediately from heaven, and that the mistletoe upon it is a proof that the tree has been selected by God himself as an object of his especial favor.
The mistletoe, however, is but rarely found upon the robur; and when found, is gathered with rites replete with religious awe …
Having made due preparation for the sacrifice and a banquet beneath the trees, they bring thither two white bulls, the horns of which are bound then for, the first time.
Clad in a white robe the priest ascends the tree, and cuts the mistletoe with a golden sickle, which is received by others in a white cloak.
They then immolate the victims …
It is the belief with them that the mistletoe, taken in drink, will impart fecundity to all animals that are barren, and that it is an antidote for all poisons.’
We’ll soon see how fanciful this is, but apparently, in the ancient Druid tongue, the word for mistletoe translated as ‘all-healing’, and the parasite mistletoe is indeed said to be used in early medicine. (Even in the 20th century it was thought to be able to cure epilepsy.)
And yet, the plant is also known to be toxic, and one wonders how safely it was used.
The Geese of the Capital
Rome is often viewed in a few set periods. The Fledgling founding by Romulus, the Punic Wars, the Civil wars and Empire, and finally the fall. Once Rome grew to cover most of Italy they it exploded into the Mediterranean, scooping up new territory with almost every war, but the struggle for Italy was a long and taxing period for Rome.
They fought many fierce enemies near and far and in wars lasting generations. The great siege of Veii was a monumental undertaking of a strong rival city only ten miles away, and that took approximately ten years to complete.
When hordes of Celts came rampaging through Italy, the Romans were simply not prepared for the new and fearsome enemies from outside their familiar Italy.
The Celtic expansions of the 6th-3rd centuries BCE caused a lot of early commotion throughout Europe. It would bring about the growth of a Celtiberian realm in Spain, and the Celts traveled so far that they formed their own state in the middle of modern Turkey. A group of Celts known as the Senone was led through Italy by their commander, Brennus.
The Senone Gauls were threatening the nearby town of Clusium, when Roman Ambassadors from the Fabii family were sent to negotiate peace for Clusium. The Romans were notoriously aggressive, and so it is only a little surprising that when a scuffle broke out between the Gauls and Clusians, the Fabii joined in and actually killed a Senone chieftain.
The Roman people voted to decide the fate of those who broke the sacred conduct of ambassadors, but the Fabii were so popular that they were instead voted to some of the highest positions in Rome. This absolutely infuriated Brennus and his people and they abandoned everything and headed straight for Rome.
Rome was woefully unprepared for this sudden attack.
The Gauls had marched with purpose, declaring to all the towns they passed that they would not harm them, they were heading straight for Rome. The numbers are heavily disputed for this battle with figures ranging from 9,000 to 40,0000 for either side. It seems likely that each side had about 12-15,000 men, but the Gauls had hardened veterans and the Romans mostly raw recruits. The Romans had also earlier exiled a celebrated commander Camillus on corruption charges.
Brennus
The battle for the defense of Rome was fought near the Tiber and Allia rivers. The Gauls seemed to have a slight numbers advantage and the Romans, under command of one or a group of Tribunes, decided to put a reserve force on a nearby hill. The hope was to counter-flank the Gauls if the broke through the Roman center or enveloped the wings.
Brennus saw through this and decided to send a force straight at the Roman hilltop reserves.
The surprised Romans soon fled. The rest of the battle was an utter disaster for the Romans, likely fearing this new and significantly larger enemy. Many Romans scattered to the recently conquered Veii and many others went to Rome. Many drowned trying to cross the river while still wearing armor.
The Gauls were astonished by how easy their victory was.
Rome only had control of a few dozen miles around their city but had built up a powerful reputation throughout Italy. It took only a day for the Gauls to reach Rome, and again they were surprised by how lightly defended it seemed to be.
The light defense was due to the sheer panic following the battle, only a small portion of the survivors were able to make it back to Rome. People fled to nearby cities or the country, many of the priests and priestesses took their religious artifacts out of the city. Those who stayed mostly fortified the steep Capitoline Hill, though some of the nobles and elderly decided to defend their homes.
When the Gauls stormed the walls they killed these lingering men and rampaged through the city. They soon realized that the bulk of the remaining inhabitants were entrenched in the tall Capitoline hill and promptly attacked, full of confidence from their earlier victories. For the first time, the Romans effectively fought back, easily holding the high ground.
The assault a disaster, Brennus decided to simply lay siege to the hill and sent his men out to forage supplies.
Here they came to blows with the exiled Camillus, who organized a resistance from a nearby town. Back in Veii the disgraced Roman survivors fought back against some Etruscan Raiders hoping to take advantage of the defeat. The Romans in Veii marshaled under the command of Quintus Caedicius, a respected Centurion.
Caedicius saw that hope rested with Camillus commanding the counter attack.
It is from here on that some truly unbelievable, almost humorous events ensued. To get permission for the exiled Camillus to lead, Caedicius had to get approval from the senate on the besieged Capitoline. A messenger snuck through the Gallic camp and scaled the unguarded cliff side of the hill to deliver the message. It was quickly decided to restore Camillus to his command and to give him dictatorial powers and then the messenger snuck his way out again.
Though official word was received the attempt greatly risked the lives of all who resided on the Capitoline for the Senone scouts discovered the messenger’s footprints and figured out that there was a way to scale the cliffs. They choose a night with a full moon and sent their bravest warriors up the cliff. The ascent was so skillful that neither the Roman sentries nor their dogs noticed anything, but the Geese did.
The Geese were actually a sacred animal of Juno, kept and fed on the Capitoline despite the dwindling food. they began quacking and honking relentlessly and some of the sleeping Romans were awakened. The first to respond was a man named Manlius.
Manlius did not hesitate for a second and charged the few Gauls cresting the top of the cliff. He killed one and pushed another off the cliff with his shield.
Soon other Romans joined the fight and killed the remaining Gauls as they came up. Other Gauls still clinging to the rocks had little hope of survival as the Romans threw javelins and rocks at them until they fell to their death.
After this battle the Gauls themselves suffered some disease and food shortages, as they laid siege to the Romans. With both sides in a difficult position, negotiations were made to pay the Gauls to leave. As the humiliated Romans loaded gold onto the scales they noticed that the Gauls were rigging the weights to make the Romans pay more than agreed.
Brennus calmly threw his sword on with the Gallic weights and said the famous words “Vae victis” meaning “woe to the vanquished/conquered”, words that the Romans would take to heart. Successive generations would fight with great ferocity in order to never hear those words again.
“Vae victis” meaning “woe to the vanquished/conquered”
The sources are unclear, but it seems that before the transaction of gold was actually complete the Dictator Camillus appeared on the scene. As dictator, he declared the gold deal void and demanded that the Gauls leave immediately. Camillus told the Romans that they would win back their city through steel, not by gold.
The Gauls were furious by the retraction of the gold that they were so close to acquiring and marched out to attack Camillus’ newly formed army comprised of the survivors of the earlier battle at Allia and many new volunteers. The Romans under the skilled command of Camillus won an easy victory and attacked the retreating Gauls and completely sacked their camp and killed almost every Gaul.
The sources for this story are often not in agreement were written generations after the events. The Geese are a common theme and their saving of the Capitoline is just crazy enough to be plausible. Camillus’ timely intervention and complete defeat of Brennus’ army may have been added to make for a less humiliating story, though other humiliating aspects are left in the accounts.
The ambassadors flagrantly disregarding the peaceful role and killing Gauls is certainly embarrassing, despite how the men themselves were viewed by their fellow Romans.
The initial Roman defeat is never put in any sort of good light, it was a humiliating loss and represented that way. So the story could have occurred as written above through primarily Livy as a source. Other sources have the Gauls leaving with the gold and being defeated at a later date, but what we do know is that Rome was very nearly completely captured by a foreign foe, and miraculously saved by some spooked geese.
The siege of the Huguenot stronghold of La Rochelle by the forces of Louis XIII, 1627-9, was a huge operation that lasted for fifteen months. The king’s forces had to devise massive seaward barriers to prevent the English, who had occupied the fle de Re, from assisting their Huguenot allies. Three-quarters of the population died from starvation.
-Siege of La Rochelle | Weapons and Warfare
Hannibals crossing of the Rhone
At the beginning of the treacherous passage, Hannibal entered Gaul with 50,000 infantry and 9,000 cavalry. He then crossed the Rhone river with 38,000 infantry and 8,000 cavalry. After crossing the Alps, Hannibal controlled 12,000 African and 8,000 Spanish infantry.
-Why did Hannibal cross the Alps ? | History Forum
Hannibal’s plan of persuading the Roman allies to join him required him to take the Second Punic War to Italy.
In order to do so, he had huge obstacles to overcome.
The feat alone of transporting an entire army of men and elephants to Italy is evidence of Hannibal’s military aptitude.
The first of these great obstacles came at the 800 yard wide Rhone River. To add to the difficulty of crossing such a body of water, the Volcae people, natives of the Rhone River, wished to stop him. They gathered all of their boats and moved to the far side of the river, intending to use it as a barrier and fight Hannibal while he was vulnerable in crossing.
The traditional military strategies of the time would have Hannibal to attempt to find another place to cross the river. Fortunately, Hannibal did not believe in following the traditional approach anymore than Caesar did. He came up with a new way to cross and thus once again proved himself to be a great innovator.
When he reached the river, Hannibal gathered what few boats he could find from the inhabitants who stayed in their homes.
The Gauls aided him by hollowing out the trunks of trees to make canoes and then taught his Spanish soldiers how to do so. The problem of how to cross sorted, Hannibal had to find a way to cross without being destroyed by the Volcae.
An army trying to cross a river cannot fight back, particularly when its enemy has arrows.
Hannibal selected Hanno from among his officers to lead a division of Spaniards and Gaul guides upriver to cross out of sight of the enemy.
After a day of marching, Hanno and his company found a shallow part of the river and easily crossed—many of the Spaniards swam with their shields on their backs while the others quickly made rafts for the horses. They proceeded to march uphill behind the Volcae and lit a fire.
When Hannibal saw the smoke of Hanno’s fire, he ordered his men to begin crossing the river.
The Volcae were so focused on Hannibal’s army crossing that they did not know Hanno approached from behind. Hanno easily took their camp as they started to fight Hannibal. When the Volcae became aware of the ambush, they realized they were surrounded and fled.
Hannibal specialized in preparing for battles, setting the field up so he could surround or ambush superior forces. Few would have thought to send a small group of men on a three day detour to fight a force on the other side of the river, yet a head-on attack would surely have spelled doom for Hannibal.
The surrounding of the Volcae was not Hannibal’s only innovation at the Rhone, however. He was also very creative in how he actually crossed the river. He had a long line of boats moored upstream completely covering the width of the river so that the lighter vessels could be rowed on the side sheltered from the wind and current (Dodge 181). This enabled his men, largely inexperienced at sailing, to cross calm water easily. Most of his horses swam but several were taken over barges fully tacked up so they would be ready for battle on the moment of crossing.
The elephants proved to be the greatest challenge for crossing the Rhone.
As Hannibal’s elephants were bred in captivity, they never learned to swim, making it difficult to convince them to cross a river.
Two theories are held about how he got the elephants across. The first, and most simple, follows the principle of herd mentality. The driver of the dominant female elephant teased her until she chased him into the river. The rest of the elephants, as herd animals, then followed her into the river and across.
The second, longer theory, if true, demonstrates more great innovations of Hannibal. He had two 200’X50’ rafts made and covered with dirt so they looked like ground. The first raft was moored to the side and would not move while the second lay loose just beyond. The elephants were coaxed onto the first, then second raft and on that moved to the other side. According to Livy, who is the source of this theory, many got scared and jumped off the rafts and swam the rest of the way ashore.
Both theories are evidence of the original thinking of Hannibal and his ability to overcome all adversities.
The Trojan Horse
The Trojan Horse is a story from the Trojan War about the subterfuge that the Greeks used to enter the independent city of Troy and win the war.
In the canonical version, after a fruitless 10-year siege, the Greeks constructed a huge wooden horse and hid a select force of men inside, including Odysseus.
The Greeks pretended to sail away, and the Trojans pulled the horse into their city as a victory trophy. That night the Greek force crept out of the horse and opened the gates for the rest of the Greek army, which had sailed back under cover of night.
The Greeks entered and destroyed the city of Troy, ending the war.
-Wikipedia
Trojan horse, huge hollow wooden horse constructed by the Greeks to gain entrance into Troy during the Trojan War. The horse was built by Epeius, a master carpenter and pugilist.
The Greeks, pretending to desert the war, sailed to the nearby island of Tenedos, leaving behind Sinon, who persuaded the Trojans that the horse was an offering to Athena (goddess of war) that would make Troy impregnable.
Despite the warnings of Laocoön and Cassandra, the horse was taken inside the city gates.
That night Greek warriors emerged from it and opened the gates to let in the returned Greek army.
The story is told at length in Book II of the Aeneid and is touched upon in the Odyssey.
The Mirage
Mirage
An optical illusion caused by atmospheric conditions, especially the appearance of a sheet of water in a desert or on a hot road caused by the refraction of light from the sky by heated air.
Vercingetorix Before Caesar
The Gallic chief Vercingetorix (72-46 BC) surrendering to the Roman chief Julius Caesar (100-44 BC) after the battle of Alesia in 52 BC. Painting by Henri Motte (1846-1922) 1886. Crozatier Museum, Le Puy en Velay, France.
He we look at Caesar, bored, looking at the caged captives. As he decides on what to do with them.
Napoleon in Front of the Throne
In 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte, a general in the army, was named first consul of the French Republic. But Napoleon’s ambitions were too large for the role. At the end of 1804, he crowned himself Emperor of the French in an elaborate, highly planned ceremony. By that time, he had brought much of continental Europe under French control.
Another painting that aptly describes how the geese saved Rome.
All that we have of this image is a blurry black and white photograph of it. As the original, I believe, has long been destroyed and is now obliterated from viewing.
Die Gartenlaube (the Garden Arbor)
I’m not quite sure what this painting represents. But in full color and in it’s magnificent size, it must have been spectacular. I am sure that it resided over a mantle within one of the great homes in Europe.
Unfortunately all that remains of this work is this black and white poor photograph of it. We can well imagine that it was destroyed during one of the great wars of Europe. And all we can have is the pale copy of a blurry photograph.
Die Gartenlaube
This work of art is probably a black and white photograph of a work that has become lost, misplaced, or damaged over the years. We should consider ourselves fortunate to have the photograph, even though the original would have been magnificently colorful.
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Kisung Koh uses his art as a means to opening gateways into nature’s spiritual dimensions, exploring the intimate connections he has formulated with wildlife during his lifetime. Over the course of years, this South Korean has had the honor of coming in close contact with many wild animals within their natural habitats and has become aware of these incredibly strong energies.
Kisung Koh uses his art as a means to opening gateways into nature’s spiritual dimensions, exploring the intimate connections he has formulated with wildlife during his lifetime.
“I love animals and natures like anyone else and they are all my inspirations. My parents had wanted me to live in somewhere full of trees and the beauties of nature because they knew I was extremely fascinated of being in nature. In my childhood I lived in a small town of South Korea surrounded by mountains and rivers and spent most of the time in nature and farms. “
“My parents had wanted me to live in somewhere full of trees and the beauties of nature because they knew I was extremely fascinated of being in nature. In my childhood I lived in a small town of South Korea surrounded by mountains and rivers and spent most of the time in nature and farms. “
“One day, I was walking in a forest myself in early morning. It was very silent and calm. While having a nice walk, I had a chance to see a deer family very close. I can’t explain how I felt at the time because it’s unspeakable. It was just truly amazing. “
“One day, I was walking in a forest myself in early morning. It was very silent and calm. While having a nice walk, I had a chance to see a deer family very close. I can’t explain how I felt at the time because it’s unspeakable. It was just truly amazing. “
” It’s probably easier to say that I saw not only deer but also beautiful spirits around them. In my opinion, there is nothing more beautiful than when you actually see a wild animal in nature. However, we rarely see them where they are supposed to be and just don’t know how amazing they are to be alive. “
” It’s probably easier to say that I saw not only deer but also beautiful spirits around them. In my opinion, there is nothing more beautiful than when you actually see a wild animal in nature. “
Kisung Koh (Canada) uses his art to open gateways into nature’s spiritual dimensions and explores the intimate connections he has built with wildlife during his lifetime. Drawing heavily on the memories and dreams provided to him by the sheer awe inspiring spectacles he has witnessed in the great outdoors, Koh pays tribute by creating imagery that is suggestive of the metaphysical energies and bonds which can exist between two living creatures, even when interacting from a distance.
Kisung Koh (Canada) uses his art to open gateways into nature’s spiritual dimensions and explores the intimate connections he has built with wildlife during his lifetime.
Over the years, Koh has had the honour of coming in close contact with many wild animals in their natural habitats, and has become aware of these energies, which have manifested themselves to him with an ethereal majesty. Through his art, Koh captures the essence and beauty of the natural world, and reminds us that our relationships with it are…
Over the years, Koh has had the honour of coming in close contact with many wild animals in their natural habitats, and has become aware of these energies, which have manifested themselves to him with an ethereal majesty.
Kisung Koh was born during the year of 1985, in South Korea. He lived in his home country until 2006 when his entire family moved to Toronto, Canada. Based in a new nation with an entirely new culture, Kisung Koh needed some time to adjust. He eventually received a BAA in Illustration from Sheridan College, ON, Canada, receiving these honors in the year of 2012.
Kisung Koh was born during the year of 1985, in South Korea. He lived in his home country until 2006 when his entire family moved to Toronto, Canada. Based in a new nation with an entirely new culture, Kisung Koh needed some time to adjust.
Since then, he has been developing his technical skill and establishing a reputation within the art community of Canada.From the moment he became a professional artist, Koh has exhibited his art around the world and has become a much sought after name within the international scene. From day one, he has been finding inspiration in animals and natures, fascinated by their grace and harmony.
From the moment he became a professional artist, Koh has exhibited his art around the world and has become a much sought after name within the international scene. From day one, he has been finding inspiration in animals and natures, fascinated by their grace and harmony.
Kisung Koh became noticed by art pundits thanks to his dreamy and imaginative places that featured animals, packed with mysterious spirits that make the depicted creatures seem safe. Such a practice culminated over time and is a result of a deep fascination with nature that followed this illustrator his whole life:
There is nothing more beautiful than when you actually see a wild animal in nature. However, we rarely see them from where they are supposed to be and just don’t know how amazing they are to be alive.
Exploring the spiritual potential of the wild and its stoic inhabitants, Koh draws comparable connections between the animal and human plights.
This is an index of art that I have found profound, interesting,
beautiful or enlightening. In any event, I find that art soothes my
soul. I enjoy painting figurative and portraits in oils using the more
traditional Flemish technique, but it never really brought me the kind
of money I need to live off of. Such is the life of a painter today.
Please enjoy.
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
Jason Limon
is a painter who has exhibited his artwork in galleries across the U.S.
and in parts of Europe. He has had recent solo exhibitions in New York
City, Chicago and Albuquerque. His current art follows stories based on
mythological creatures and paranormal cryptids portrayed with a hint of
humor with a dose of strangeness. You can often see his characters
brought to life in dimensional form through his complex sculptures.
Jason lives and works in San Antonio, Texas with his wife and two
daughters.
His current art follows stories based on mythological creatures and paranormal cryptids portrayed with a hint of humor with a dose of strangeness.
“The main thing that drove me to finding my place in the fine art world was watching and admiring what other artists were doing.”
” I used to spend my days sitting behind a computer working in the graphic design biz and almost every single day I’d scour through illustration annuals and art books we had lying about in shelves and piled on our desks. I was always amazed at the great new things many of these artists were creating.”
“The main thing that drove me to finding my place in the fine art world was watching and admiring what other artists were doing.”
” For the longest time it was a place where I always felt I belonged, but was frightened to jump into seeing as I have a family to support and all. Over time these feelings just became stronger and I grew really tired and felt restricted by the computer. “
For the longest time it was a place where I always felt I belonged, but was frightened to jump into seeing as I have a family to support and all.
“I decided to dive in head first in 2007 and began painting full time and all good things just snowballed from there. It’s been a tremendous honor and pleasure to be able to be in the exhibits I’ve been in. I do look forward to seeing what more this avenue has in store for me.” – Jason Limon (Murphy Design)
I decided to dive in head first in 2007 and began painting full time and all good things just snowballed from there.
“Over the last few years when I would lay down to sleep at the end of the day the first thoughts that would run through my head were about death. I’m not a morbid person, nor am I afraid of death. The thoughts were typically quick, then I’d do my best to understand what they meant, but would usually fall asleep before even coming close to an answer.”
Over the last few years when I would lay down to sleep at the end of the day the first thoughts that would run through my head were about death.
“They went on for a little over two years and I noticed just a few months back that they went away. With hindsight and looking at it altogether I took it as a signal to rethink how I express my feelings through art. “
With hindsight and looking at it altogether I took it as a signal to rethink how I express my feelings through art.
“Most of what I am saying in these paintings is personal and revolve around fear, confusion and the fragility of life – about not having answers and trying to move beyond these ominous feelings. As dark as it all may sound, it has shed a positive light on how I create. “
Most of what I am saying in these paintings is personal and revolve around fear, confusion and the fragility of life – about not having answers and trying to move beyond these ominous feelings.
“In most of this work I have also reintroduced the application of typography as well as the usage of multiple panels in a painting; elements that I enjoyed early on, yet had faded with time.“
In most of this work I have also reintroduced the application of typography as well as the usage of multiple panels in a painting; elements that I enjoyed early on, yet had faded with time.
My images almost always seem to portray doom and gloom! I’ve been shoveling through my brain, tossing out some darkness and trying my hardest to stick to absorbing positive thoughts.
My images almost always seem to portray doom and gloom! I’ve been shoveling through my brain, tossing out some darkness and trying my hardest to stick to absorbing positive thoughts.
In the process I was thinking about my fifteen year old daughter poking fun of my typical dad concerns, complaints and worries. Sometimes my only response to her is “You Will See“. It’s sometimes tough to keep fighting off problems and remain strong inside.
Of course, we’ve all been through trouble. We deal with it and keep moving ahead. She’s had a different life than I have and I do my best to see her happy, but just a suggestion to keep in mind: It is not that easy to keep going. Hold on to hope through it all as you go forth.
In the process I was thinking about my fifteen year old daughter poking fun of my typical dad concerns, complaints and worries. Sometimes my only response to her is “You Will See”.
This is an index of art that I have found profound, interesting,
beautiful or enlightening. In any event, I find that art soothes my
soul. I enjoy painting figurative and portraits in oils using the more
traditional Flemish technique, but it never really brought me the kind
of money I need to live off of. Such is the life of a painter today.
Please enjoy.
Articles & Links
You’ll not
find any big banners or popups here talking about cookies and privacy
notices. There are no ads on this site (aside from the hosting ads – a
necessary evil). Functionally and fundamentally, I just don’t make money
off of this blog. It is NOT monetized. Finally, I don’t track you
because I just don’t care to.
